Tuesday, July 27, 2010

5 Myths About Asian Food

Myth 1- Asian food is fast food Fact 1- I have been to America and being an Asian chef myself, I understand why Asian food like Chinese takeaway is akin to takeaway McDonald burgers. In fact, most Chinese dishes can actually be cooked or prepared in a very fast manner like Cantonese fried rice, but it is the ingredients preparation itself that takes time. However there is also a lot of Asian dishes that require extensive preparation.

Myth 2- Asian food is difficult to prepare Fact 2- Asian foods are gastronomical delights that are mostly prepared in some exceptionally heavy cooking like stir frying, steaming and many more. It is not difficult to find your desired ingredients when cooking up some Asian dishes for your family. There are so many Asian groceries around America that sell some of the common herbs and spices used in Asian dishes.

Myth 3- Asian food is just about Chinese, Vietnamese and Japanese food Fact 3- Asia is a very big region, covering from Far East like Japan to the west Asia like India. Because of the large region Asia actually covers, there are huge culinary world out there in Asian region alone. Asian foods from countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, or even Philippines are so criminally underrated that I hope the tourism boards from these countries should spend more effort in promoting their country dishes. However, Thai recipes seems to cover a larger demographic around the world with their sour and spicy dishes like Tomyam or mango kerabu.

Myth 4- Indian food is curry food Fact 4- That is one of the most common perceptions that whatever dishes that are curry would have to link to something India. The Indian culinary world does not only cover spicy dish but also some of the greatest vegetarian dish in the world. Indian cuisine also famed for their naan (Indian bread), tandoori chicken (chicken meat skewered in a long metal stick and cooked in a hot pot), sweet candies called ladoo, their famed milk tea called chai and many more.

Myth 5- Chinese food is typically sweet in taste Fact 5- For some reasons, most of the Chinese foods that I have tasted in America are sweet in taste. That is how the Chinese foods are being perceived, prepared to somehow suit the taste buds for most people. However, if one ventures outside America, to places like Guangzhou or somewhere in Guangdong province of China, area where one could discover the real culinary world of China, you will be able to savor an entirely different taste of Chinese cuisine that actually covers a huge variety of tastes.

Conclusion Of course there are more untrue perception about Asian foods. Nothing really could beat any Asian cuisines that are originally found in the Asian region itself.